Chapter One: The Day Everything Changed
The golden sun dipped gently over the horizon, painting the sky with soft hues of orange and rose. On a worn-out yet charming balcony overlooking the sleepy village of Litigar, a girl sat still, bathed in sunlight like a painting brought to life.
Esterphania.
Her hair, long and wild, was the shade of fresh blood under moonlight, cascading over her shoulders in soft waves that shimmered in the sun's tender kiss. Her eyes were the most captivating feature—a piercing blood-red with a depth that mirrored a stormy sea of secrets. Thick, delicate lashes curled upward like butterfly wings, fanning the air with every blink. Her lips were a soft heart-shaped pout, a silent promise of beauty and danger in equal measure.
She was beautiful. Breathtaking, even. But beauty didn't buy belonging.
"Esterphania!" her mother's voice rang from inside the small house behind her. "Come in here a moment, will you?"
Esterphania blinked slowly, her eyes reluctantly leaving the horizon. She stood and walked with quiet steps into the dim kitchen where her mother stood by the doorway, wiping her hands on a worn cloth.
"I need you to go to Zila," Silvia said, handing her a small bag of coins. "We need onions, dried peppers, some millet if they have it."
Esterphania stared. "We don't eat human food."
"I know," Silvia said gently. "But sometimes, pretending helps. Maybe you'll meet someone new. You're young, Estephie. It's okay to want friends."
The nickname made her chest tighten. Estephie. Only her mother called her that.
She took the bag wordlessly and walked out. It wasn't about the food, of course. Her mother just wanted her to go out. Again. Try again. Fit in. Again. But what was the point?
She was only ten, but she had known long ago that she was different. Not just because her mother was a demon—and so was she—but because no matter how much she tried to be like the other children, it never worked.
The memory came back, slow and sharp, like a thorn pressing into soft skin.
She had been five then.
Esterphania had been playing by the stream near the edge of the village. The others laughed and ran around her, tugging at her hair, admiring its crimson glow under the sun. She was happy. For once, she had felt like one of them.
Then, the girl came.
With cold eyes and jealousy burning beneath her lashes, she pushed Esterphania hard, sending her tumbling into the mud. Sand followed next, thrown in a spray right into her eyes.
"My mom said you're a witch!" the girl had shrieked. "Your hair and eyes are weird! You're cursed!"
It stung—her eyes, her heart. She had tried to wipe the sand away, blinking fast, her mouth trembling with words she couldn't form. But then—something else rose within her. Hot. Wild. Angry.
"I wish you would just go away…" she had whispered, her voice shaking.
And then it happened.
Flames burst from thin air, engulfing the girl in a bright orange fury. Screams echoed through the trees. They all turned on her. Even the ones who had laughed with her.
From that day, no one wanted to play with the witch. They crossed themselves when she walked past. Mothers pulled their children away. No one looked at her with anything but fear.
They weren't wrong.
She had set the girl on fire.
Even if it wasn't on purpose… she had still done it. Because she was a demon. A monster in the skin of a little girl.
Since then, she told herself that humans were beneath her. She would not grovel for their friendship. She would not care.
But sometimes, she still cried at night.
Zila was livelier than Litigar, with wooden stalls stacked with bright fruits and vegetables. Esterphania moved quickly, head down, hood up. The coins clinked in her small hand as she picked what her mother asked for. She was about to pay for the last item when she heard the chaos.
Screams.
She turned just in time to see people sprinting down the narrow roads. A man grabbed a young girl by the arm, dragging her behind him. "Litigar's under attack!" he shouted. "Run! Strange humans—they're biting people!"
Her blood froze.
Litigar. Her village.
Her mother.
Without thinking, she dropped the basket and ran. Her feet pounded the dirt, heart thrashing against her ribs. People screamed around her, some crying, some praying. The sky had darkened too fast, as if the sun had fled the horror below.
When she reached the outskirts of Litigar, what she saw didn't seem real.
Figures moved through the village with animalistic grace. They looked like humans… but their eyes were wild and their mouths were dripping with blood. They tore into villagers with their teeth, shredding skin from bone.
Yet… none of them touched her.
She ran through them like a ghost.
Some turned their heads slightly, watching her pass. But none lunged. None reached out. They just let her go. As if they knew what she was. Or what she would become.
She didn't have time to question it. She ran harder, her mother's voice ringing in her ears—Estephie.
The house was broken.
Shattered vases lay across the wooden floor. Blood smeared the walls. Furniture had been tossed aside, and the front door hung crooked on its hinges.
Her heart dropped.
"Mom?" she called, voice breaking.
No answer.
She ran through the small house, breath catching in her throat—until she saw the blood.
Thick trails of it led into the kitchen.
"No…"
She pushed the door open with trembling hands.
There—on the cold floor—was Silvia. Her mother's silver hair was stained with red. A strange black knife protruded from her abdomen, its hilt glowing faintly with eerie green symbols.
"Mom!" Esterphania fell to her knees beside her, trying to stop the bleeding, trying to undo the nightmare.
But Silvia's hand reached up, weakly catching her daughter's wrist. "L-Listen… to me…" she gasped, her voice no more than a rasp. "You are… You… you a-a-are a…"
Her eyes went still.
Her hand dropped.
And silence took over.
Esterphania couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
The sunlight had faded. The screams outside were distant now. All she could hear was the echo of her mother's last unfinished words—and the shatter of her world.